Sunday, 4 October 2009

This weekend I have actually been producing my designs for the Textiles Society. Making them into the real deal! Its a big step for me, as I've always seemed to avoid making the jump from the ideas and designs to making the final product. I have this strange sort of fear that the outcome isn't going to be good enough. That it won't turn out the way I imagined. I'm scared of failure, even though I know failing and making mistakes is the often best way to learn.

I've not seen all the final outcomes yet - My friend Martin is getting the posters printed on Monday. But the leaflets, stamp, stall visualisation and props for the stall are all ready to go. The brown bags will stamped and the sponsors' promo material sorted into them along with my leaflet - I can't wait to see how the finished goodie bag looks! I've also set up the basics for their facebook fan page and twitter account.

The freshers fayres are this Tuesday and Thursday. I'm hoping to go along to the Thursday one to take my own photos. I'm really excited and really nervous about how it will go. Fingers crossed for success!

Monday, 28 September 2009

"...never stop thinking. Never stop asking questions. Never, never stop reading, looking, imagining what else can be done. And don’t be afraid to start small. You’ll get there, eventually. And when you do? Send somebody a thank you note."

An inspirational piece of writing from Jessica Helfand. Read the full open letter here.

Sunday, 27 September 2009

This afternoon I visited my favourite teashop to meet with a friend. He is the founder and president of NTSU's newly formed Textiles Society and this past week I have been busy creating a logo and overall visual concept for the society. We were meeting to discuss the PDF of designs I had sent him.

I arrived to find out that the majority of the committee was now meeting up, and that he wanted me to pitch the idea and my designs to them - a very different scenario to informally discussing it just with him. And suddenly the nerves began to bubble.

It was nothing like a design pitch in industry would probably be like, so being nervous seems quite unnecessary now. They are students, I'm a student and it was quite informal really. But I'm not the sort of person to do things half-arsed, so I attempted to treat it as the real deal. I formulated the points I wanted to make and tried to communicate them in the clearest way possible.

It was extremely rewarding when they ended up choosing the design that was secretly my favourite, and how responsive they were to some of my other ideas regarding how they undertake some of their promo materials and fundraising. When it's all done and dusted, I plan to post the work here along with images of it in use at the upcoming Fresher's Fayres. Keep an eye out.

Returning to Nottingham yesterday, imagine my excitement when I unlocked my flat door and felt resistance as I pushed it open - my copy of Mark Shaw's Copywriting, the book I blogged about here, had arrived!

Even just from briefly flicking through its pages, I feel its going to be an interesting read, and that makes me quite excited. Here is a small snippet from the first chapter that has caught my attention so far:

"The best way to write copy is to focus completely on the true nature of the target audience so that your messages are crafted with them in mind. This will produce compelling copy and your reader will feel at home with your writing. Using a clever play on words, a pun or a quick witticism is becoming less important than being able to craft a well-constructed, stimulating message."

It might seem like it is stating the obvious, but clear and simple advice is often so easily forgotten, especially as a student. Working solo on projects and trying to do everything yourself, wanting to impress your tutors and peers; you can get overloaded and lose the ability to see each part clearly and might neglect a certain aspect, there's no point in denying it.

I look forward to curling up on the couch and giving it my full attention.

Saturday, 26 September 2009

I really want to make the most of this blog and post regularly, but like a lot of people, time can sometimes be hard to find. And usually I can't write a post straight off the top of my head - I have to have drafts which I rewrite a few times first.

Often I get an idea for a blog when I'm in the middle of doing other things. Sometimes I like to leave a draft and come back to it at a later time when I can read it fresh before modifying it.

So I've decided to make the leap and set up mobile blogging so I can write and send drafts on the go whenever I have spare time. And then by laying down the groundwork I can make edits later at my laptop before publishing.

Thursday, 24 September 2009

Today I went and visted my tutors from the college where I did my national diploma. It was lovely to be able to catch up and see how the course has developed. A lot of changes have been made, and for the better it seems. I was slightly jealous.

I also realised how much I have learnt since college. My conversation with my design tutor was so much more involved and interesting. Having become more aware of the current goings-on in the design sphere (largely because of, but not limited to, my RSS feed obsession) I was able to discuss topics in greater depth, and with better understanding than I could have ever done two years ago.

Two years ago I knew very little. Now I'd say I know at least a little bit more.